Today I found out South African earthworms can grow as large as 22 feet long, with the average length being about 6 feet long. The largest one ever found so far, being 22 feet long, was found on a road side in 1967. Other varieties of large earthworms include the Giant Gippsland earthworm of Australia, which grows about 3 feet […]
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Today I found out that the tongue on a Red-Bellied woodpecker, along with some other species of woodpecker, is so long that it can extend at least three times the bill length and, when retracted, wraps around its skull. According to a study conducted by the Dalian University of Technology in China, Grey-Faced woodpeckers have a tongue that measures around […]
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Mark S. asks: Do ostriches really hide their heads in the sand in response to being attacked? Today I found out that ostriches don’t hide their heads in the sand, contrary to popular belief. When an ostrich feels genuinely threatened, rather than hiding its head in the sand, it will take off running- fast. In fact, the ostrich is the […]
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Today I found out why mosquito bites itch. When female mosquitoes poke their proboscis through your skin so they can suck some of your blood to be later used to make eggs, they inject you with some of their saliva. This saliva helps them to drink your blood more quickly, because it contains a cocktail of anticoagulants. Once the female mosquito is […]
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Today I found out the world’s strongest animal is the copepod. Relative to their size, typically about 1mm long, copepods are also the world’s fastest animal, being able to jump at a rate of about a half a meter per second. Their incredible strength, relative to their size, makes them over ten times stronger than any other known species on […]
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Today I found out how to make maple syrup. Ever find yourself sitting there enjoying a stack of pancakes dripping with melted butter and maple syrup (getting hungry aren’t you?) and find yourself wondering, “I wonder how maple syrup is made?” Ya me neither. However, on the off chance you’re out of maple syrup and the apocalypse comes tomorrow and […]
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Today I found out how glow in the dark stuff works. Glow in the dark products all contain some type of phosphor. Phosphors are any substance that radiates light after being energized in some way. There are literally thousands of chemicals that are phosphors. These chemicals all have varying degrees of brightness, color, and length of time they glow after […]
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Today I found out that almonds are not nuts. In fact, an almond is the seed of the fruit of the almond tree. This tree bears fruits with a “stone-like” seed within. Fruits with these characteristics are called “drupes”. Specifically, a drupe is a fruit that has an outer fleshy part surrounding a shell that contains a seed. Other drupes […]
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